Breaking the Rules (40 page)

Gerard, who had returned to the house, was waiting for him in the circular hall with Solange. The paramedics had just entered, but they stood to one side when they recognized him.

Jean-Claude knelt down next to her, murmuring her name, holding her hand, and finally Tessa opened her eyes. She tried to say his name, failed, and closed her eyes again.

Jean-Claude, stricken and shaking, looked up at one of the paramedics, his eyes pleading. His mouth was so dry he could hardly speak. ‘Is she—’

The paramedic cut him off. ‘She must go immediately to the burns unit at the American Hospital in Paris,’ the man said, nodded and gave Jean-Claude a half-smile. It somehow told him that Tessa would make it.

Jean-Claude insisted everyone went back to Paris, including Gerard and his wife Solange. He wanted Clos-Fleuri torn apart for bombs. Hakim drove the family; Gerard and Solange followed in his Renault. Jean-Claude knew he must telephone Tessa’s parents, but he wanted to be sure his wife was properly installed in the American Hospital before he made the call. As he sat next to Tessa in the ambulance, he silently prayed, and with all his heart, for his wife to live. And he prayed for her twin brother, Lorne.

The Hartes flew to Paris the following day.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Paula and Shane O’Neill, their youngest son Desmond, M and Larry, Linnet and
Simon, along with Jack Figg, boarded the private jet owned by O’Neill Hotels International, which was waiting at Stansted Airport.

Once they were settled in their seats, and the Falcon was airborne, Shane spoke to them all. He said, for the second time, ‘Tessa is going to be all right. I just want you all to know that. I’ve had several calls from Jean-Claude, and the doctors in the burns unit at the American Hospital are positive. Good news about Lorne. He’s much better. He has concussion and his hands are burned, as are his ankles. But Tessa and Lorne are going to live, and they’ll have the best care for their burns.’

‘But what about Tessa’s face?’ Desmond said, staring at his father. ‘I thought you said she was badly burned.’ The twenty-one-year-old, who had always been close to his half-sister, stared at his father, obviously distressed.

‘She will be as beautiful as ever, Des, honestly. I wouldn’t lie to you. Jean-Claude told me they can perform miracles with plastic surgery these days.’

M interjected quietly, ‘This is the work of that bastard Jonathan Ainsley.’ She glanced at her mother, who was white-faced and strained, and then at Jack. ‘Don’t you both agree?’

Paula could only nod.

Jack said, ‘Certainly I do. It has his signature written all over it, no two ways about that. We’re going to take care of him, M. I promise you.’ He smiled reassuringly at Paula. She nodded,trusting him.

‘I just want to get to the hospital,’ Linnet said, reaching forward, taking hold of Paula’s hand. Seeing how worried and nervous her mother was, she added, ‘Dad’s right, Mummy. Tessa will be fine, you’ll see. She’s a fighter.’

‘She’s a Harte!’ M exclaimed. ‘And we won’t let anybody defeat us, least of all that, that—’

‘Bastard,’ her mother interrupted, supplying the appropriate word.

Looking across at M, Shane now asked, ‘I do hope you cancelled that yacht and the cruise, M. You did, didn’t you?’

‘I left a message on their answer machine, Dad, explaining I would have to reschedule for September. They weren’t open when we left the flat this morning. I’ll telephone the charter company again, once we’ve seen Tessa at the hospital. Anyway, they’ve got my deposit, so I’m sure they’re not worried.’

‘Good girl,’ Shane murmured, and gave his youngest daughter an encouraging smile. ‘You can’t expose yourself to any danger. I won’t allow it.’

Desmond looked at M. ‘Can I go in with you, when they let us see Tessa?’

‘Yes, of course, Des. Try not to worry, she
will
be all right.’

‘Her face,’ he said again, very softly. ‘Her very, very beautiful face.’

‘I know,’ M murmured and blinked back her tears.

Far away in St Petersburg, Jonathan Ainsley stood on the top deck of
Janus,
looking out to sea, pressing a mobile phone to his ear.

‘Hello?’ he said, knowing exactly who it was. This was the mobile he kept for his chief hatchet man. No one else had the number. This one was reserved for Sam Herbert Samson.

‘Boss?’ Sam said. ‘It’s me. Calling from gay Paree.’

‘Do you have good news, Sam?’

‘I certainly do. The party went off as planned. The one we had in the library.’

‘That’s very good news. Well done.’

Sam clutched the phone tighter, listening to that cultured, aristocratic voice. It had always intimidated him. He was now wondering how to explain the next bit of news. Taking deep breaths, Sam finally jumped in feet first. ‘I still have to check
how many are left around, Boss. Unfortunately, I had to leave the party early. I’m going back now. I’ll give you a jingle later today.’

‘Very well, Sam. Do what you have to do. I have the utmost faith in you. After all, I know you are thorough. I know you won’t become another Bart and make yourself redundant. Are you staying at your usual place?’

‘I sure am, Boss,’ Sam answered, his throat suddenly dry with nervousness.

‘I’m glad to hear it. Call me as soon as you know the final results of the party.’

‘I will, Boss.’ Sam closed his phone. The boss had already cut him off without saying another word. But that was his way. As he pocketed his phone, he couldn’t help worrying about that mention of Bart, long since dead. He hated it when the boss alluded to him. Bart had died in mysterious circumstances.

Several days later, on Tuesday 15 May, Richie Zhèng landed at Heathrow Airport. Once he had cleared customs, he took his rolling carry-on bag and hurried off, making for the outside. He saw the chauffeur at once. He was carrying a sign that had the name ‘Croesus’ printed on it. He smiled. Jack was creative.

Once he was settled in the back seat, Richie told the driver, ‘The Grosvenor Hotel, please.’

‘Yes, sir,’ the driver responded, sounding as if he knew this already.

It took about an hour to reach the hotel, and Richie went immediately to the front desk, where he registered under the name on his birth certificate and on his legitimate Canadian passport: Richard Thomas Sutton. He used the Canadian passport.

Within seconds he was shown up to his suite, where he
unpacked his bag and then freshened up in the bathroom. Returning to the bedroom, he took stock of the room in general, lifted his two laptops out of the carry-on and slipped them into a double-sided canvas tote. After pocketing the key, he left the room, went down in the lift. As he crossed the lobby, Richie glanced around, saw nobody he knew, and hurried out to the hotel’s courtyard.

Walking at a steady pace, enjoying the fresh air on this sunny spring morning, he headed for Mount Street and Cardigan International.

Jack Figg was waiting for him there. He introduced Richie to James Cardigan, and the three of them sat down in James’s private office.

‘Did you get everything done in Switzerland?’ Jack asked, knowing the answer before Richie spoke. He trusted this young man implicitly. He was brilliant, efficient and dedicated. And as trustworthy as his grandfather, Zhèng Wen Li.

‘I did, Jack. It all went smoothly. I also have all the passwords, codes, and Jonathan Ainsley’s PIN…his personal identification number, the security code for his own personal computer at the bank.’

‘So explain to me again what you’re intending to do exactly, so that James can understand it as well, Richie.’

‘With all these codes now in my possession, plus my knowledge about correctly filling out the online bank transfer forms, I can transfer money anywhere in the world.’

‘In other words, you are now in control of Ainsley’s money,’ James asserted.

‘That’s correct. I also control my grandfather’s money, the hundred million he invested with Ainsley. Because he gave me all his codes. And I control Grisha Lebedev’s investment with Ainsley in his Belvedere-Macau Private Bank.’

It was James who looked startled, and asked, ‘How the hell did you manage to do that?’

‘
I
didn’t. But as Jack knows, I am currently employing six hackers, the most brilliant in the world, and they hacked Lebedev’s computers and got the required passwords, codes, security code, the usual.’

‘Who are they?’ James gave Richie a searching glance, went on to probe, ‘And where are they?’

‘I can’t tell you who they are, that’s confidential, and anyway, you have no need to know. They are based all over…there’s one here in England, another in Macau, one in Stockholm, two in Germany and yet another in Iceland. They’re scattered.’

‘So what’s the final plan?’ Jack sat back.

‘Yes, I can explain it, Jack, but I’m going to do it in broad strokes and not in infinite detail because it becomes very complicated. And you’re not all that into computers, are you?’

Jack smiled ruefully. ‘No, I’m not.’

‘All right, here goes,’ Richie said. ‘At your meetings with my grandfather, you and he agreed that the best way to stop Ainsley was to go after the money. And it was Wen Li who dreamed up the idea of using me as an instrument, in a sense. This idea he put into motion very cleverly, by dangling the carrot in front of Ainsley. One hundred million US dollars as an investment in Ainsley’s bank,
providing
I was given a job at Belvedere to learn more about the business of banking in general. Before inheriting my own bank from Grandfather.’

‘I remember every detail,’ Jack murmured. Looking across at James, he added, ‘And Ainsley took the carrot. Also, he saw Richie as a future partner, in my opinion. He always grabs the main chance.’

‘Apparently he had no option. Over the last few years, as he’s recovered from his many operations in the clinic, he has been playing silly games with the money, and in some ways he’s rendered himself vulnerable,’ Richie confided.

‘In what way?’ James asked, focusing on Richie.

‘He spent a lot of his own money to pay for that ridiculous
yacht, competing with Roman Abramovich by making it slightly larger than his was so foolish. He has not, as yet, dipped into my grandfather’s money, but he has used some of Lebedev’s investment with him. Now, and here’s the whole point of the plan, Lebedev is highly suspicious, and he’s going to start asking tough questions real soon. Also, he’s pissed off with Ainsley, because the latter made a play for the new woman in Lebedev’s life, a woman called Galina. I see a blow-up coming imminently, and that’s why I really have to act in the next couple of days.’

‘I know you have incredible sources,’ Jack said, giving Richie a reassuring smile, ‘but would you mind explaining one thing? How do you know about Lebedev’s attitude towards Ainsley?’

‘I have someone inside Lebedev’s trading company, an impeccable source. A man I went to school with.’

‘In America?’ Jack asked.

‘No, in Canada. In Toronto. Trust me, Jack, he is dependable, trustworthy, and on our side.’

‘I do trust you, Richie. So just give me a brief outline of what’s going to happen in the next few days, would you?’

‘I am going to start moving money out of Ainsley’s personal account at Belvedere-Macau.
I
will not be doing this, one of my hackers will. The money will go into a dummy account in a legitimate bank. However, it will be transferred out within twenty-four to forty-eight hours and sent to another dummy account, in another bank somewhere else in the world. Each dummy account will be closed after the transfers. When it has been moved three times by six different hackers working for me, it will end up in one of three accounts in Switzerland.’

Jack said, ‘
Numbered accounts,
I assume.’

‘That’s correct,’ Richie responded.

‘And in essence Ainsley’s money will just disappear into thin air, into the ether,’ James interjected. ‘Am I correct?’

‘Yes, you are, James,’ Richie answered. Turning to Jack he went on, ‘In Zurich yesterday I opened the three numbered
accounts. I used fake Canadian passports which were bought for me on the black market. Each passport obviously has my photograph in it, to prove my identity, but the names were totally fake. I can never be traced, so I’m secure.’

Reaching inside his jacket pocket, Richie took out an envelope. ‘Here are the names of the three banks and numbers of the accounts, Jack. As you agreed with my grandfather when you were in Hong Kong, Ainsley’s personal money, which in effect we are moving out of his private bank, will be used for children’s charities around the world, those to be decided on by you and my grandfather. In other words, when the time is right, you and Wen Li will start to distribute the money to the needy children of the world in a discreet and orderly manner through the charities.’

‘That’s right, Richie, and I couldn’t have said it better.’

‘When I transfer Wen Li’s original investment, his profit is going to him as well. And Grandfather said he would give me enough to pay the hackers.’ He grinned at Jack. ‘But mostly they do it because they have to do it. They’re
hackers,
and they enjoy the thrill of it all.’

James said, ‘There’s one thing I’m curious about, Richie. How did you get a mole into the Lebedev company? And so quickly?’

‘I didn’t, James. It was a stroke of luck…one of those peculiar coincidences in life. I remembered, suddenly, when I was talking to one of the hackers, that my old school buddy, my best pal, was working for a Russian oligarch. When I looked him up on my computer just out of interest, I discovered he was with the Lebedev Group, as it’s called. And what’s more, he is actually leaving this week, because his contract is up. He’s heading to Bali for a rest and some fun. So no suspicion can fall on him either.’

James smiled and so did Jack, who then said, ‘So I wish you luck with all this, Richie. You’ve done a magnificent job for us. And your grandfather will be very proud, I’m sure.’

‘I hope so. He loathes and detests Ainsley; blames him for my father’s downfall and death. Well, there’s nothing like revenge, Jack, nothing at all.’

‘That’s true, and it’s a dish best eaten cold,’ Jack said dryly.